Stay Young With Me
by SkeletonCircus
Summary: There's always the walk before the run, the calm before the storm, the stillness before the chaos. For Lily Evans, that was sixth year, the best year of her life. Her friends were close, her grades were impeccable, and her comebacks at Potter were wittier than ever. When Lily realizes that the impending danger isn't just another irksome Marauders' prank, reality hits her hard. L/J
1. Prologue

_[A/N]: Hi there! This is the prologue for my new story, Stay Young With Me, and I'm greatly looking forward to writing this fanfiction. This prologue is told in Lily Evans' point of view, however the story itself will be in 3rd person. I know it's short, but there's much more to come! Also with this story I will type what song I was listening while writing the chapter! Well here it goes..._

_[DISCLAIMER: Although no one in the Harry Potter series was even mentioned in the prologue, I still don't own Harry Potter]_

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_Stay Young with Me_

It seemed like my youth, my innocence had just been stripped away from me in this tainted dream. It had to be a dream, the end could not be like this; so blunt and unforgiving. But this was growing up, not a dream, an inevitable twist of fate no one could possibly predict. It had to be just yesterday where I was wishing for a successful future, a happy life, along with a stream of materialistic things to go along with that. Today I was just wishing for the promise of safety. Vulnerability is such a strange sensation. Knowing that life could leave you at any moment forces this numbing weight upon you that you cannot escape. But I knew closing my eyes would just allow hallucinations that render my greatest fears. It's almost humorous, the way the elders around you warn you not to wish your youth away. They didn't have to be elders to warn you of that though, they could just be people who were forced to grow up fast and face the treacherous world much before you did. I was the one to ignore this forewarning, and it led me to regret not treasuring my innocence before I stood here, where I am today.

_I just wish I could stay young with you._


	2. The Flashback

Hello again! This is the official first chapter of Stay Young With Me! It's only a flashback, but it sets up the story, so bear with me! Now Playing: We All Roll Along by The Maine

I would LOVE YOU FOREVER if you reviewed to motivate me to write faster! Ah!

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DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter. Obviously.

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Sunday, October 31st, 1976

18:00

Hogsmeade

[FLASHBACK]

"Doesn't it seem like we're a bit…old for this?" Lily Evans asked her two best friends as they were walking through the streets of Hogsmeade. The night air was crisp with a slight breeze and a chill that reminded everyone that winter was just around the corner.

"Of course not! Halloween is by far the best Muggle holiday, and it should be celebrated by all," Tessa Bristol insisted, "I mean really, what other day can I dress up as a genie and not be judged?" She pointed to her white cropped bodice that ended just above her midriff along with her baggy low-waist purple bottoms. The silver bangles adorning her arms jingled as she walked and the violet veil across the bottom half of her face swayed gently in the breeze.

"Well, I guess you have a point there," Lily nodded slowly. At times, her best friend's priorities worried her just a tad. Lily looked down at her own costume and was a bit dissatisfied over her decision to be a pirate. The red bandana tied around her head was beginning to make her lightheaded and her boots were giving her blisters. Her hoop earrings felt like they were tugging at her earlobes. Lily cringed with every step she took in her off-white button down blouse and brown ripped bell bottom jeans. Needless to say, her outfit was a last minute decision.

"Alice, you're quiet," Tessa mused, turning her gaze to the third best friend of the trio, Alice Prewett. Her dark brown eyes were set on something in the distance, making it difficult to snap her out of her trance. Her fairy costume made her seem even more delicate than usual, and her black hair was perfectly constructed into a modern pixie cut.

Alice turned toward her two best friends and with a stoic expression reflecting on her face, she snapped a large wad of chewing gum in their faces.

"Ran out of candy," She shrugged.

Lily giggled a bit as her five-foot one friend reached into Tessa's bag and took out a handful of candy, plopping it into her own stash.

"Alice!" Tessa screeched, whipping out her wand, "Petrificus Totalus!"

Alice straightened up and fell to the ground, dropping her bag of candy in the process. Tessa grinned victoriously and retrieved her candy from the bag.

"Tess!" Lily gasped at the brazenness of her friend. Quickly, she mumbled a counter-spell to the passed out Alice. She lowered her eyes at Tessa, "Don't you think that was a bit…over dramatic?" Tessa shrugged, ripping open the wrapper to a pack of jelly slugs and dumping the whole package in her mouth.

"Aye, Bristol! Keep it up and you may just be suitable to join the Marauders!" the voice of James Potter rung out loud and clear from behind them, causing Lily to automatically scowl. The laughter of the four infamous boys echoed, causing the girls to whip their heads around. Alice slowly stood up, rubbing her head a bit.

"Quintessa, shouldn't you be careful? I mean, isn't this foolish wand waving what got you kicked out of Beauxbatons?" Alice pointed out, unashamed. Lily slapped her palm to her head in disapproval.

"No," Tessa bit her lip, trying to control her rage, "I punched a girl in the face."

The boys cheered and high-fived Tess, her boldness amusing them. Lily, however, glared at her friends.

"Alice!" Frank Longbottom came sprinting over, distracting the group of friends.

"Frankie!" Alice squealed in delight, embracing her boyfriend, "Later, losers."

The couple rushed away, hand in hand.

"Evans!" James imitated Frank's spastic greeting and went to hug Lily.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Lily waved her wand at Potter before he could touch her. James stopped and collapsed to the ground, exactly how Alice had. Everyone erupted with laughter and this time high-fived Lily.

"See! It comes in handy, doesn't it?" Tessa's proud grin was hard to miss.

"So what kind of candies did you ladies get?" Sirius Black, James Potter's partner in crime asked.

"A bunch of chocolate frogs, some cauldron cakes…" Lily began sorting through her own bag.

"You're lucky, Remus over here got blood-flavored lollipops and cockroach clusters," Peter Pettigrew, a short, chubby boy chimed in.

"It's true," Remus Lupin confirmed in disgust, "Worst Halloween ever. But I got some chocolate as well!"

As for myself, I've been indulging in some licorice wands!" Sirius' signature flawless grin spread across his face.

"Boys, girls, we must return back to Hogwarts this instant," Professor McGonagall walked over to the group, "Merlin, what has Mr. Potter gotten himself into? Unbelievable, someone drag him along, Dumbledore wants everyone back at the castle now."

McGonagall rushed away, going to collect the other students. Lily, Tessa, and the boys all had the look of confusion plastered on their faces.

"Did something happen?" Peter questioned, a bit frantic, shoving a handful of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans in his mouth.

"Clearly something must be up," Lily assumed, turning to Sirius, "What did you do?"

"Me? Why do you always assume it's me?" Sirius threw his arms up.

"Well Potter's unresponsive at the moment and you two especially seem to cause every mishap that affects Hogwarts so…"

"Mishap? We provide _entertainment_! Besides, I'm sure what we did this time wouldn't have Dumbledore rushing us all back to the Castle," Sirius rolled his eyes, "C'mon James, get up."

"Sirius Black, you are in the presence of two Prefects, I suggest for you to not be so careless," Lily scolded him, referring to herself and Remus, "Remus, why do you neglect your duties as Prefect?"

"Oh, Lily, don't take yourself so seriously," Remus nudged her, a shy smile on his face. Lily threw her head back in disgust.

"This is hopeless. Well, since I'm the only _responsible _one here, let's hurry back to the castle!" Lily demanded. James began to stir, as it was only a weak spell, and Sirius and Peter helped him up.

"_Evans_," James straightened up with the help of his two friends, "I'm impressed."

Lily dismissed what James had said and grumbled. She could throw him off the nearest building and he'd still love her. The six of them began their walk back to Hogwarts after about ten minutes of bickering.

"Why are we walking? We could just use the secret…" James began to say.

"Dude, shut it, Lily over here would have a fit," Sirius whispered so only the boys could hear.

"True. Walking it is! Besides, we get more time with our _darling _Evans and Bristol," James mischievously grinned.

"Gross," Lily stated.

"She loves it!" James confirmed, nodding to his friends.

The six of them walked through the paths of Hogsmeade to get to the road that led back to Hogwarts. Lily glanced around her and suddenly noticed how spooky the village became to her at night. Maybe it was just because it was Halloween night. But still, Halloween was only a Muggle holiday that Professor Reed, the Muggle Studies teacher, suggested that the students celebrate. Of course, no one objected because everyone was for the idea of free candy.

"Guys, could we hurry up, like, pick up the pace?" Lily hinted, aware that the Marauders were fooling around; "Guys, no one else is here," Lily was becoming alarmed. Had it really been that long since McGonagall ordered them back to the Castle?

"Aw, Lils is scared," Sirius chuckled.

"You're safe with us," James reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. This time, Lily didn't reject it. She would take comfort from a porcupine at this point. The sudden emptiness of the village was giving her the creeps.

"Oh Lily, don't be ridiculous! You're a Gryffindor, for Merlin's sake, and a damn good one at that!" Sirius pointed out, "It's just a bit dark! Oh look at that…they turned off the street lamps. You know people these days are so rude! Can't they stand to leave the light on, I mean really. They have visitors, _very attractive_ _visitors_, at that. And besides…" Sirius was cut off by Tessa's alarmed voice.

"Guys, we need to get out of here. Now," Tessa spoke up, seeming a bit breathless. Everyone turned their attention to her, knowing that her unease was not to be taken lightly. Tessa was a skilled Seer, the best in the school. One only needed to be in one Divination class to know that she had The Eye, as Professor Lavender would refer to it as.

"Tess, what's wrong?" Lily asked.

"Impossible, _impossible_," Tessa mumbled, still affected by the aura that was tormenting her, "I don't know how much time we have until…"

Tessa was interrupted by the icy chill that soon engulfed the six friends. As soon as it hit them, they all became very aware of what Tessa had sensed. The gloomy atmosphere had made them all a bit lethargic as they fumbled for their wands. James seemed to be strangely alert. He turned to Lily.

"Evans, I want you to understand that the odds are not in our favor, and we all may very much be doomed," James spoke in the most serious tone Lily would never had imagined he was capable of, "I don't care if you have to _lie_, but it would _really help me through this_ if you said something nice to me."

Lily looked at him as if he were mad. Was he really sweet enough that he wanted their last moments together to be charming? Or was he just looking for a meaningless compliment to fuel his big head?

"_Lily, please_."

He had never called her by her first name before. Lily was taken aback by his desperation, as if her words could actually save them. She supposed it was a more symbolic thing for Potter, or, _James_, since they were going about on a first name basis all of a sudden. The rest of the group was anxiously looking around them, wands out.

"P- I mean, James," The name tasted funny on her tongue. She couldn't believe she was going along with this, "James, I don't actually think you're an arrogant toe rag…you actually can be kind of sweet, sometimes, I guess. Oh and I really do like your hair, even though last year I told you it was stupid the way you pushed it back, no uh, I like it," Lily was stumbling over her words but she was frantic and James was so insistent as he gazed into her eyes. He chuckled a tiny bit and stared right into Lily's emerald green eyes. Delicately, he placed a kiss on her cheek, his lips barely grazing her porcelain skin. Lily was too shocked to react. The group became preoccupied with the black hooded figures floating towards them. Dementors. The students had only heard of their existence as being the guards of Azkaban, and under complete control of the Ministry, or so they thought. An incredible amount of iciness washed over the group of friends, and they were getting dangerously close. Knowing that they couldn't escape, they attempted spells, hexes, anything. The cold was swallowing up Lily now. Her weakening body collapsed alongside Tessa's and Peter's as dreaded memories crept into her mind. The Dementor's were tormenting her, confiscating any blissfulness she had ever encountered. She looked over and saw her friends as victims to the same horror. However, she didn't have the strength to find a way to save any of them and it killed her even more.

And then she saw James. He had pushed in front of his friends with such fearlessness. Even Sirius and Remus were stumbling now. The Dementors were sucking out every last ounce of happiness an individual could ever imagine. James, his wand pointed directly in front of him, taking a stance so strong he must have known what he was doing.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" James yelled at the top of his lungs, clear with force. The white light was everywhere it seemed, and then it absorbed its energy into a clear image of a stag. The Dementors, the blackness, the fear, all seemed to rushed away. The impossibly white, gracious animal alongside the boy with the silly round glasses and the messy brown hair was all that Lily saw before she blacked out.

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White, bright light awakened Lily, who immediately went into a state of confusion before realizing that she was lying in bed in the Hospital Wing. Her emerald eyes searched around the room and she realized that she was the only one there. Looking down, she noticed that she was still in her awful pirate costume. Last night was all too vivid. The cloaks, the claustrophobia, the imminent sense of death were all too much for her to mind to process all over again. She turned her head towards the nightstand beside her and saw a single piece of chocolate on top of a post it note. _Eat this. It's better than the repulsive medicine the nurses gave you. –Remus_, it read. Lily smiled to herself and made a mental note of how Remus was always her favorite. She bit into the chocolate and the warm sensation filled her up, seeming to return all of the happy memories that were lost to the merciless chill of the Dementor attack.

"Oh, Miss Evans, you're up!" Madame Pomfrey walked into the room and smiled, "You're free to go. You know, your friends awoke earlier so they're back in the Gryffindor Common Room, I suppose. Professor Dumbledore did not want them to return to class after previous events. But that won't be a problem for you, I'm afraid you just missed dinner, dear."

"I slept for that long?" Lily asked, in shock.

"Yes, sweetie, but it's all right, that's very normal after such a disturbing, indescribable situation."

Lily nodded and got out of bed and threw a clean set of robes that lied next to her on her bed over her costume. She thanked Madame Pomfrey for her kindness and headed out to return to the Gryffindor Common Room.

During her long walk she couldn't help but replay the events of the night before, more specifically what had happened with James. Their brief moment of civility still perplexed her. She wondered whether it changed anything. She had never seen James' softer side due to the over confident air that constantly surrounded him. She couldn't avoid that fact that he saved her life. Not only that, he saved all six of their lives. Without him, Tessa, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and herself would all be suffering a consequence worse than death: the Dementor's Kiss.

Lily was anxious about seeing James, even nervous. What would she say to him? Would he act like saving their lives was no big deal and would he be humble about it? Would he shyly push his hair back and shrug as she thanked him for preserving her existence?

"Golden tongue," Lily said the password to The Fat Lady. She would find out soon enough.

"Welcome back, Lily Evans!" The Fat Lady replied with a smile, opening up the door. Lily was immediately taken aback by all the fanfare going on in the Common Room.

"Potter! Potter! Potter!" The entire Gryffindor House was chanting. It wasn't hard to spot James, as he was being lifted up by a group of proud students, treating him like a king. Lily saw his smile, but it wasn't the soft smile she saw last night. It was the same old I'm-going-to-charm-the-pants-of-off-you-because-I'm-James-sexy-Potter smirk that honestly made Lily sick.

His supercilious expression wasn't the only thing that was making her gag. The sight of Tessa and Remus acting like the head of James Potter's fan club was making the vomit come up. Even Alice and Frank were cheering wildly, and they weren't even there. Finally, they put James down, but the excitement did not cease. Was that _McGonagall _ready to making an announcement, tearing up with pride?

"Alright, simmer down for just a moment, I understand we have a _hero _to celebrate," McGonagall began, "On a serious note, I'd like to address some matters at hand. Two Prefects were involved in this event, and realistically, they would not have been in any danger if these two would have returned to Hogwarts as soon as they heard my urgency. Lily Evans and Remus Lupin, 10 points each taken away from Gyffindor, for not living up to your duties as Prefects," she paused to let the booing ensue. Lily stood there, dumbfounded. This had to be a joke. She looked over at Remus and noticed his indifferent expression. Was she honestly the only one who cared anymore? "However, with the extraordinary efforts of bravery, heroism, and courage of our very own Mr. James Potter, 50 points to Gryffindor! Also, the Ministry has alerted us that the Dementors have been safely repositioned back in Azkaban with tighter security and they ensure that their escape will not occur again."

Cheering started back up again as Lily awkwardly stood at the entrance of the Common Room. She had never felt so isolated as she watched Tessa throw her arms around James and kiss him on the cheek. He was _beaming_.

"Hey, there's my pretty damsel in distress," James called out to Lily. All of the girls, with the exception of Alice and Tessa, seemed to glare at Lily with envy as he made his way over to her.

"Oh um, I'm going to bed, continue on with your celebration," Lily stated awkwardly, pushing passed everyone to the Girls Dormitories. She wasn't about to be shown off like James' trophy. How could she even believe that James would lose the arrogance and act normal with her for once? Disappointment engulfed her as she plopped down her bed. She wasn't tired, of course, since she had slept all day.

"Oh, Lily," she heard Alice's voice as her friend stepped into the room. Tessa walked in behind her.

"Lily we're okay now," Tessa smiled as if everything was serene. There wasn't a spark of worry in her eyes. Lily relaxed a bit. Seeing Tessa calm was basically like seeing that the future ahead was calm.

"Lily, I know you don't want to hear the speech of how Potter deserves all of the celebration and…" Alice began.

"He deserves the celebration, that's not what I'm upset about. It's the fact that last night… I saw a new side to James. He was so level-headed and genuine. And then just when I see a new hope of him actually giving up his old ways, it disappears," Lily shook her head. Her friends frowned, unsure of what to say to her.

"I brought you a celebration muffin…" Tessa mentioned, handing the blueberry muffin over to Lily. Lily couldn't help but laugh at Tessa's innocent statement in the midst of all of this.

"Thanks, Tess," Lily took a bite into the muffin, "Let's not come in contact with any Dementors anytime soon, alright?"

"What did you guys see, if you don't mind me asking…" Alice wondered, " What memories were evoked when the Dementors surrounded you?"

"I saw my mum telling me what a disgrace I was to the family…and how it was such a shame I couldn't be more like my sister. It was like seeing my life's lowest points all over again: my dad leaving, my mother's hatred, living on the streets…" Tessa explained in horror.

"I'm so sorry, Tess," Alice saw her pain, "Lily, what did you see?"

"I saw…my sister's hate for me. How she nearly drowned me when she found out that she wasn't a witch as well. I saw Severus basically declaring his scorn for me as well..." Lily shivered at the thoughts, "It was the worst thing I've ever experienced."

"Agreed." Tessa nodded, "What a Halloween."

"No kidding," Lily concurred, "Did you believe McGonagall when she claimed the Ministry had 'everything under control?'"

"I'll let you know when I figure that one out for sure," Tessa grinned, "C'mon Lily, let's forget about it. I mean really, think of how cool we look after escaping a Dementor attack."

"Yeah, they may be celebrating James out there but Lily, you saved the lot of you just as much as he did!" Alice pointed out.

"What? I didn't do a thing," Lily was perplexed by what Alice was referring to.

"He's been telling people that if it wasn't for you, all of you guys wouldn't have made it. He told everyone that you gave him the strength to perform the Patronus Charm."

That's when Lily remembered the pure white flash of light taking the form of a stag. The only thing she knew about the Patronus Charm was that it was extremely advanced magic.

"How…?" She still didn't fully understand.

"Lily, to conjure a Patronus, one needs to fill themselves up with the happiest memory they can recall," Tessa reminded her, "That's why James made such a big fuss over your last conversation. He knew exactly what he was doing. That was adorable, by the way."

Lily couldn't help but smile a bit. Despite the whole ordeal over James, he was giving her major credit. Credit Lily didn't even know that she deserved. Maybe he did change. Maybe James wasn't so bad after all.

[END OF FLASHBACK]


	3. Seventh Year Begins

**Hey there! This chapter took a bit longer than I expected to be finished, but no worries! I was beginning to write down a new story idea, and I got distracted. Before you go complaining that Tessa is an OC and is discussed a lot, I tried to make her as interesting as possible because she is crucial to the plot! So, I hope you like her! But anyway, I promise that the next chapter A LOT is going to change, I just needed these first 3 to sort of set everything up for the craziness to ensue! Ah well, get reading, and PLEASE REVIEW!**

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**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters. Boo :(**

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"Guess what day it is?" Lily heard Tessa's voice ring out somewhere close by, followed by the clattering of objects being thrown together in a suit case. Of course Lily knew what day it was: September 1st, 1977. Tessa had been counting down the days since the minute they had left Hogwarts on June 13th, 1977.

"I know, Tess," Lily grumbled from underneath her lilac blankets, clearly content with staying in bed for another hour. It was 7:00; she had a few more hours since the Hogwarts Express left at 11:00.

"Lily, this is our last year at Hogwarts!" Tessa continued on, "Oh, Lils, these last two years you've allowed me to stay with you have been great…"

Lily barely listened as her friend babbled on and on about how grateful she was that the Evan's family had taken her in after Tessa's mother had kicked her out of her house. She did this spewing of thankfulness at least twice a week. Getting expelled from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in her third year was apparently "an unforgivable embarrassment" to the Bristol family name. When the Evans family had run into her on the streets of London the summer after their fifth year, they immediately took her in. Lily, at first, couldn't have been any happier after discovering that her new friend would be living with her, but at times like these, it was a bit exhausting. She wondered more often then she should if James Potter ever felt that way about his best friend, Sirius Black, living with his family after Sirius' mother had kicked _him_ out.

"Lily, are you listening to me?" Tessa was now sat on top of her, "Ugh, well maybe this will make you feel better."

Lily peaked out from underneath the covers to see Tessa was holding out a piece of distinguished parchment with fancy lettering. Curiosity got the best of her, and she snatched the letter from her friend's hands.

"You opened my mail?" Lily accused angrily, noticing the torn envelope that rested on her dresser.

"I couldn't help it! Pearl was just there with the delivery and she wouldn't leave me alone and the letter just looked so fancy…I had to find out what was so _important_…"

"Do not accuse my owl of pestering you!" Lily's fury was building until she noticed what her letter had actually said.

"Read it out loud," Tessa demanded proudly.

"I am pleased to inform you, Lily Evans that you will take on the honor and responsibility as Head Girl during this school year," Lily exclaimed, jumping out of bed.

"Uh huh. And to think, you were mad at me for…" Tessa was cut off by Lily running down the hall screaming.

"MUM I'M HEAD GIRL OF HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY!" Lily screeched down the hallway, doing a victory lap. Her mother was downstairs standing at the kitchen sink.

"Oh, dear, that's what you've wanted ever since your first year! I'm so proud of you!" Mrs. Evans smiled at her daughter, giving her a hug, "Who's Head Boy?"

"I won't know until I get on the train," Lily answered. She figured Remus was probably Head Boy, anyway.

"Congratulations, Lils," Tessa was now downstairs, her suitcase and owl all ready to go, "I made breakfast!"

Lily noticed the large feast spread across the table. There were five plates out with glasses all filled to the top with coconut milk. Dishes of strawberry kiwi crepes, meaty omelettes, ham and pineapple shish kebabs, and a few more exotic recipes Lily couldn't quite name adorned the table.

"Tessa how did you…" Lily began to ask, taken aback.

"Oh, Lils, you remember, before Beauxbatons all the way from when I was seven to age ten, I spent time on the islands just off the coast of the Americas! Such a pleasant time of my life, I was with relatives, you know! Everyday we would go out and find fresh ingredients for our meals that day oh and let me tell you…" Tessa began rambling again and Lily zoned out, nodding blankly.

"Lovely, the freakshows are up," Lily's rotten sister, Petunia acknowledged as she came down the stairs. Everyone knew Petunia was so bitter because she wasn't a witch like Lily was.

"Petunia, your sister is Head Girl!" Mrs. Evans exclaimed, "Isn't that just wonderful?"

"So now she's the Head of all Freaks? I suppose that's wonderful in your sick, twisted world," Petunia spat.

"Tuney, don't be such a downer! I mean, remember when you got first chair in the flute section of your school's er… band was it? That was pretty cool!" Tessa tried to stray from any further quarrel. Petunia's facial expression softened.

"You remember that?" She seemed so glad that the focus was back on her. Lily rolled her eyes at her self-centered sister. Tessa nodded with a sly smile.

"I'm going to miss having Tess around the house for times like these, won't you," Mrs. Evans whispered and elbowed Lily lightly. Lily had to agree. She did help soothe the tension, surprisingly. Lily concluded that her anger management issue hit its peak after her expulsion from Beauxbatons, and she really came a long way. Lily figured that there was so much conflict within Tess' own family that she couldn't bear to see another family face the same division.

Once Mr. Evans had come down for breakfast, the five of them eagerly ate the meal that Tessa had prepared from her "island" roots. Lily noted that it was actually quite good and was quiet for most of the meal. She just couldn't wait for her last year at Hogwarts. This year was all about decision making, the biggest one being her future career. She knew that Alice and Frank wanted to be Aurors, but Lily wasn't so sure that she wanted to follow that path. She knew that James and Sirius probably wanted to be something stupid like famous Quidditch Players, only furthering their egocentricity. She wasn't sure about Tess, but knowing her skills in Divination, she would probably work somewhere to help the Ministry. She saw Remus becoming a Professor at Hogwarts. And as for Peter…well Peter would probably just work at a shop in Hogsmeade. He didn't have much promise to begin with, anyway.

* * *

"What?" Lily acknowledged as she stepped on the Hogwarts Express with Tessa, "What the hell?"

Lily wanted to smack her forehead against the nearest wall after what she had just witnessed. She pinched her arm, rubbed her eyes, blinked a few times…it wasn't going away. She realized that she wasn't trapped in a nightmare.

"Hiya, Evans!" James Potter greeted her. She had no problem with this; she was used to him greeting her by now. What she had a problem with was the shiny badge that matched hers that was pinned onto his uniform.

"Alright, Potter, who did you steal the Head Boy badge from?" Lily was convinced that it was a joke. Typical Potter.

"No tomfoolery performed here, Head Girl Evans, I am the legitimate Head Boy of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's student body," Potter proudly announced.

"You aren't even a Prefect to begin with!" Lily cried out, reality hitting her hard.

"You don't need to be a Prefect in order to be a Head Boy or Girl, Evans," James pointed out, "Looks like you're going to be spending a large quantity of time with me this year!"

"What did I do to deserve this?" Lily called out. By now, nearly all of the students aboard the train were witnessing their two Head students arguing. The kid may have saved her life, but he wasn't the most favorable of company.

"I know receiving the honor of standing within my presence more frequent than previous years is a bit overwhelming…" James began.

"Potter, you already know what I'm going to say to that," Lily cut him off. James just laughed because after years of fighting, he knew Lily was right, "Let's go, we have to do our jobs now."

Lily and James both headed to the Prefects' Carriage to discuss safety precautions with the Prefects.

* * *

"Hello, fellow underachievers," Tessa said as she sat down next to Sirius in their compartment. It was just her, Sirius, and Peter, the only ones out of their group who weren't Prefects.

"This is the good life," Sirius assured her, "Can't believe we lost James to the do-gooders."

Peter ripped open the packaging of a Chocolate Frog and eagerly took a bite.

"I swear, if Lily and James don't get together by the end of this year, I'm going to flip out at Lily," Tessa admitted, "This is getting ridiculous."

"You're telling me! I'm the one who has to deal with James complaining all the time about how Lily won't give him a chance!" Sirius pointed out, "And then you have Alice and Frank who are practically married since fifth year…what is wrong with our friends?"

"I don't see anything wrong with that…" Peter mumbled, nonchalantly.

"Shut up, Peter. Anyway, I'm going to do a study on how being a Prefect actually has a negative effect on the student. It gives them a false sense of empowerment! I mean really, just because they can prance around and hand out detentions and take away House Points, they think they are so important! I think that we _regular _students need to strike up a rebellion and take down these mighty…"

"Sirius, I'm sure James will still pull pranks with you even though he's Head Boy now," Tessa interrupted him. Sirius stopped his rant for a moment.

"You really think so, Bristol?" Sirius' tone softened as he looked for Tessa for reassurance. Tessa nodded and Sirius sighed with relief.

* * *

"Okay everyone, let's make sure no one neglects their duties as Prefects, and I'm positive we will all have a great year!" Lily declared to the new Prefects. This new feeling of empowerment filled her up and allowed her to take charge while James sat beside her, absentmindedly playing with a stolen Snitch in his hand, "Anything to add, Potter?"

"Alright, kids, let's aim to have a ton of fun this year because let's face it, entertainment is more important than following a bunch of lousy rules," James' words of wisdom were not what Lily was hoping for.

"He's joking," Lily quickly tried to cover up his declaration, but it was too late. The Prefects were cheering and high-fiving James. Unbelievable, Lily thought.

"Alright, we all know that you aren't going to take your responsibility very seriously, but you don't have to emphasize that fact," Lily seethed.

"Me? I'm very serious about my responsibility. I just believe that a few things ought to be changed around here," James gave Lily his famous one-sided smirk. She looked to Frank and Alice for support, but those two were too busy cuddling in the corner to care.

Lily could not comprehend how the idea of making James Potter the next Head Boy ever crossed Professor Dumbledore's mind. It was beginning to frustrate her. Was it honestly because of his heroism way back in the October of last year? Whatever it was, it didn't matter. She knew there was nothing she could do to change what James had planned.

It was going to be an interesting year, which was one fact that Lily couldn't deny.

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**Thanks for reading! PLEASE REVIEW (:**


	4. There's Truth in Tea Leaves

**Hiya there! I'm super happy with this chapter because things are starting to move along now! Since fanfiction made that pretty box at the bottom of each chapter...please review? Thanks, I love you.**

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**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters**

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The first few nights of Head Boy and Girl patrol weren't as bad as Lily thought they were going to be. As she and James walked through the hallways, James seemed actually…down to earth. It wasn't the same James she saw Halloween night last year, but he was still…normal, almost. At first, she believed him to be bipolar, but then she was beginning to realize that his pretentious ways were just an act when he was around a ton of people. She never realized how _different_ he was when he was talking with her one-on-one. She was never alone with James before, and it was actually refreshing. Lily would listen as he excitedly chattered about Quidditch. She used to believe that Quidditch was a foolish sport that only caused unnecessary injuries, but hearing someone talk so passionately about it made her rethink her judgment.

"It's like an escape for me, you know? When I'm flying on that broom…the feeling is just, indescribable. Scoring points is another elation that I can't seem to put the right words to express. It's a thrill, Quidditch, that's what it is," James told Lily, absentmindedly running his fingers through his hair.

"And you're Captain this year, correct?" Lily nodded.

"Yeah, I really can't believe it," James admitted honestly. Lily was shocked by James' modesty.

"Seriously?" Lily remarked, "I mean, everybody likes you and you're so passionate about it, why wouldn't you have been chosen?"

James chuckled a bit, hiding his surprise of Lily's mentioning of him being likable. He couldn't deny that, nor was he going to.

"I'm not sure how much you pay attention to the game while you're there, Evans, since your nose is always in a book, but if you haven't noticed, your best friend Tessa is pretty amazing at Quidditch. She's a Chaser as well, and quite the daredevil. She could have definitely been chosen. But I really thought it was going to be Derrick Thomas, our Keeper. He's a strong leader on the team and hell; the way he can save a goal is bloody brilliant!" James explained.

"I'll be sure to pay attention next time," Lily let out a small laugh. She checked her watch for just a moment and realized that their patrol duties were over for the night. They began heading back to the Common Room.

"I'm really enjoying my seventh year, Lily," James mentioned, a sparkle in his hazel eyes. There he goes again, using her first name. They were right outside the Common Room.

"Same here, James," Lily smiled at him.

"Brass Cauldron," James told the Fat Lady. She opened up the entrance without her usual complaining, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night," She replied. They headed into their separate dormitories.

* * *

"What do you think, purple and silver or red and gold? You know, I like the red and gold idea because it'll exemplify our House colors but purple and silver is just so pretty…" Lily walked in on Alice going on about something to Tessa. The other seventh year girls were obviously trying to tune them out, as usual.

"Alice, you're seventeen, quit talking about wedding plans," Tessa was flipping through the pages of her magazine as Alice was writing plans down in her notebook.

"You've got to start thinking about life after Hogwarts, Tess. As for myself, Frank and I plan on getting married right away!" Alice explained excitedly.

"We've barely lived life yet, Alice! Calm down. Honestly, there's so much to do after Hogwarts, getting married is the least of my worries," Tess grumbled.

"You're only saying that because you've never been in love," Alice flipped over to her back, "The greatest magic of all…"

"I do not wish to further this conversation. Goodbye," Tessa stated. Lily slowly made her way over to her bed in between them.

"You know, it's about time you two get boyfriends! I can definitely find a few boys interested…" Alice began.

"UGH!" Tessa growled, pulling the scarlet blankets over her head and slamming her head down on her pillow.

"Did I say something…?" Alice wondered at her friend's sudden rage.

"Oh, Alice, you're too funny," Lily shook her head.

* * *

The next morning, they were all sat around their table for breakfast in the Great Hall. As usual, Sirius was consuming massive amounts of bacon with Peter while Remus was nonchalantly eating some oatmeal. James had a large stack of pancakes in front of him with a mountain of whipped cream as he poured syrup on top of the stack.

"Look, it's like a volcano," James mentioned, watching the maple syrup slither down the stack of pancakes and whipped cream.

"Charming," Lily remarked sarcastically, dipping her spoon into her cereal. The sight of the sticky sweet maple syrup that was now dribbling down Potter's chin repulsed Lily. Breakfast was always like this. Alice and Frank were obnoxiously feeding each other strawberries and Tess stuck her tongue out in disgust, earning a few laughs from her friends.

"Mr. Potter, Professor Dumbledore would like to see you in his office," Professor McGonagall informed James in a low voice. Normally, Lily would just roll her eyes, because usually when James was called to go somewhere, it meant discipline. But in this particular occurrence, Lily wasn't so sure because if he was getting in trouble, Sirius, his partner in crime, would be sent off with him. James nodded, seeming a bit puzzled himself. He wiped the syrup off of his face with the back of his sleeve and followed her out of the Great Hall.

"What's that all about?" Lily wondered aloud.

"Don't know, usually if we're in trouble, McGonagall has no problem letting the entire school know…" Sirius pointed out, "She seemed pretty cautious about whatever it was."

"Yeah, and you two usually make a grand exit and declare your own mischief," Lily shook her head.

"Well whatever it is, he better be back soon because it's Saturday which means we have Quidditch practice right after breakfast! We have a huge game tomorrow to start of the season against Ravenclaw," Tess complained.

"We can stand to not have Potter at one practice," Sirius argued.

"We need James, Sirius. This is our first game of the season, and he's our Captain! He needs to discuss our plays with us, we need leadership! Tomorrow's game isn't going to be easy, we aren't sure what to expect and we cannot just assume from previous seasons that…" Tessa began.

"Can't you just predict if you're going to win, anyway, Tess?" Lily asked sharply, her underlying tone was mocking, "Why don't you just whip out your crystal ball and..."

"Dammit, Lily, I'm not a psychic!" Tessa suddenly snapped, "I don't _predict _anything, and I don't have visions, either. I'm no less of a freak than anyone else here! It's just that no one else pays attention in Divination Class!"

Shocked by her friend's sudden outburst, Lily quieted down and looked away from the table. She couldn't help but feel a tad bit guilty. She supposed that after all these years at Hogwarts; she was just tired of hearing about how great James was. Everyone at the table dispersed into separate conversations to relieve the tension.

Tessa took a deep, cleansing breath and casually slid James' mug in front of her. She ripped the bag of tea leaves that would've served as his tea open and spilled them into the cup, adding a tiny bit of water. Lily noticed this in her peripheral vision and huffed. The mug went crashing to the floor and broke in half after it had slipped out of her hands. Tessa's eyes widened and she gripped the table.

"What the bloody Hell?" Lily cried out. The commotion had caught the attention of all four tables and the students stared. Tess blankly stared at her friends for a moment before charging out of The Great Hall.

"Has she gone mad?" Alice suddenly piped up.

"Absolutely mad," Sirius and the other boys agreed. Lily just sat there, astounded by the disarray.

* * *

"Alright, so basically, tomorrow we play Ravenclaw. A sad bunch, really. I mean all they care about are books, as if that's going to get them far in life," Sirius rolled his eyes, "Lame."

"Uh, Black, when are we going to actually start practicing?" Mitchell Finnegan piped up.

"Watch it, kid! Potter isn't here which leaves me in charge, and if you don't like it, you can go insult a Hippogriff for all I care," Sirius yelled.

"Who says that Thomas can't be in charge?" Jack Bell, Gryffindor's Seeker, pointed out, referring to Keeper, Derrick Thomas.

"Don't question me, Bell. I'm the oldest one here; therefore, I'm automatically of higher stature, kids. I decide whether or not to save you from Bludgers at tomorrows game, your fate rests in my hands, yeah!" Sirius stood a bit taller, "Anyone else want to question me?"

"Yeah, where's Bristol?" Chad Tanner questioned.

"Why am I the only Chaser here?" Finnegan whined. As if summoned, Tessa flew in on her broom and dropped down onto the field of the Quidditch Pitch.

"Black," she called, "I'll take over from here, and just…I think you should go see Potter."

"Never let Potter leave Black in charge again," Bell muttered. The rest of the team silently nodded in agreement.

"Um, alright," Sirius gave Tessa a weird look and headed back to the castle.

* * *

"Lily, will you relax for once and stop studying? You're going to do just fine in whatever test you are stressing about," Alice shook her head, flipping through Tessa's magazines.

"Transfiguration," Lily confirmed, "Borderline impossible, those tests are."

"Funny you say that, knowing very well you get one or two points off at the most of any test at all," Alice pointed out.

"I just don't get how Potter is so brilliant at Transfiguration," Lily began, completely ignoring Alice's valid point, "I mean let's face it, he's dreadful in every other subject, with the exception of Defense Against the Dark Arts. It just…perplexes me."

"Yeah, he's even better than you in Transfiguration!" Alice agreed.

"Don't rub it in," Lily huffed.

"Speaking of Potter…do you know what happened…" Alice began to ask but was interrupted by the door of the Gryffindor Common Room flying open and an exasperated Tess charging in. Her two friends gazed at her in confusion, but she just brushed right by them, heading straight for the stairs of the Girls' Dormitories.

"Hey!" Lily called, "What are you doing?"

"Stuff," Tessa shrugged, her eyes weary.

"Well we need to speak with you," Alice chimed in.

"Well, I do not wish to be spoken to," Tessa snapped.

"I have some questions about Divination," Lily tried, speaking calmly. This made Tessa pause.

"You don't take Divination anymore," Tessa raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah but uh she was thinking about switching into the class," Alice glanced at Lily and nodded. Lily mouthed a silent 'thank you.'

"You are? That's great! What do you want to know?"

The next thing Lily knew was that she was sitting across from Tessa on her bed with a crystal ball propped up on the blankets.

"Tess, I don't exactly see anything…"

"Nonsense! It's because you're looking at it too hard. Relax you eyes, because you aren't going to see anything with your actual eyes; don't be silly," Tessa let out a tinkering giggle, amused by the thought.

"Er, if you say so," Lily nodded, "I was wondering…do you think you could tell me about tea leaves?"

"Tessomancy," Tess froze, "Are you honestly trying to subtly ask me what happened this morning without pissing me off?"

Defeated, Lily nodded, knowing there was no way out. Tessa picked up the crystal ball and put it back in the box that was underneath her bed. She let out a deep sigh, and turned her dark grey eyes to Lily's green ones.

"I just noticed something in James' tea leaves, is all."

"Not just anything…"

"Lily," Tessa exclaimed, "This is none of your business. It wasn't even my business to begin with!"

"You just stormed out of The Great Hall like you saw something….alarming," Lily pointed out, "Excuse Alice and me for being concerned."

"I don't want to gossip," Tess bit her lip.

"So whatever you saw was true," Lily concluded quietly. Tessa nodded in response.

"You know, the Boys' Dormitories don't have spells cast upon them to keep us out," Tessa hinted.

* * *

"Hey, Remus! I was wondering if you got the answer to question four on the Potions homework!" Lily was yelling as if she had an actual purpose to be in the Boys' Dormitory. Mid-sentence, she opened the door and let herself in, surprised to find it empty.

"He's not here," Lily heard a low voice answer back. She recognized it as James and she turned the corner to see him sitting on the windowsill, looking out.

"Oh," Lily mumbled, taken aback by his weakened voice. "Is everything okay?"

James turned around to face her. His hazel colored eyes, usually sharp and fueled with a pool of arrogance, were now soft and outlined with a red, irritated rim. There was no sign of tears but it was evident that they were there previously. Lily couldn't believe how vulnerable James looked, and she felt guilty for intruding.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have bothered you," Lily stuttered, realizing that her curiosity was selfish of her. She began backing out of the room.

"You could stay if you like," James said quietly. Cautiously, Lily closed the door behind her and decided to take a seat next to him. She couldn't believe that this was the same lighthearted boy happily chatting away with her just last night.

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	5. Everything's Falling Out of Place

**Yay for updating! If you haven't already, check out my new story Lace Off Your Shoes! I couldn't decide what to name this chapter. Sorry this took a bit longer for me to update, I've been busy with work and such. Plus, I'm going to Warped Tour in a few days! How rad! I'm super excited, so in my next update, I'll probably talk about it up here. No one probably reads this anyway, so just get on with the story, you! **

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**DISCLAIMER: NO. HARRY. POTTER. IS. NOT. MINE. OKAY. BYE. READ. THE. STORY. WAH.**

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"They were great people, my parents," James murmured.

"I'm so sorry," Lily whispered, "I'm sure they were. I cannot imagine how you feel."

They sat there in silence for a few moments. Lily was searching for the right words to say but they just weren't coming to mind. The stillness was making her uncomfortable.

"This year isn't going to be like what I thought it was going to be like," James mentioned, breaking the silence. There was a hint of anger underlying in his tone.

"What do you mean by that?" Lily questioned.

"Let's just say Tessa saw a lot more than just death in those tea leaves," James muttered, picking at his shoelace. He looked away from Lily and back out the window.

"What else did she see?"

"Don't you get it? The less you know, the safer you are!" James snapped suddenly, "Lily, my parents were _murdered_."

Lily gasped, recognizing that there was more than just sorrow in James' hazel eyes. The fury laced his eyes with a fiery color that spoke revenge. A long, terrifying howl came from somewhere in the distance outside, and the two of them jumped a bit.

"I've got to go," James grimaced. He grabbed some sort of cloak from underneath his bed and began heading out.

"Wait!" Lily exclaimed, "Where are you going?"

"Lily, now is the worst time for you to take a sudden interest in my life," He threw the cloak over himself and disappeared.

"James?" Lily asked, moving to where she last saw him. There was no response.

* * *

"And then he just disappeared!" Lily explained to Alice the next morning.

"Wait, so what did you do about patrolling the corridors?" Alice questioned. They were the only two in the dormitory since everyone else had gone to breakfast.

"I had to patrol by myself! It was utterly boring. I was going to ask Remus to come along, but he was no where to be found! Potter, Black, Remus, and Peter…all of them were _gone_," Lily described.

"The Marauders," Alice mused, "Why do they call themselves that, anyway? I mean, who actually thinks up a name for their group of friends?"

Lily shrugged, clearly at a loss. She was beginning to realize that there had to be something more to the 'Marauders' than just four boys who pulled immature pranks. The worst part was that she just couldn't quite figure out the mysteries behind them.

"And now you think Tessa Bristol, _our best friend_," Alice emphasized before continuing, "is in cahoots with them?" Alice raised her eyebrows, as if to say she wasn't buying any of it.

"Look, I'm not crazy," Lily insisted, "He told me that the less I knew the better off I was!"

"Well then maybe you should just listen to him, if that's the truth," Alice suggested, "Honestly, why are you so intrigued by any of this to begin with? It's all so sudden; your interest, that is."

"I shouldn't have expected you to understand," Lily spat, beyond frustrated at this point, "How could you, when you're too caught up in your love for Longbottom."

"Lily!" Alice exclaimed, surprised by the sudden sting of her tone. Alice composed herself and lowered her eyes at her friend, "You know, Lily, sometimes it's better to be taken away by the great things in life rather than becoming caught up in the bad. You'll never be happy that way. I mean, just look at Tessa. She's so caught up in her 'Inner Eye' that all she is focused on is the bad. Do you notice that all of her 'predictions' are nothing but horrible news? Do you really want to try to decipher the meaning behind the Marauders' mysteries? You'll end up just like _her_."

Lily glared at Alice for being so insensitive. Sure, her friend had a reasonable point, but under her philosophy, one would become delusional. Just a moment ago, Alice was reminding Lily that Tessa was their best friend. She was about to dispute Alice's underhanded digs at Tess but then she realized that Tess wasn't necessarily on Lily's side either. Nonetheless, she frowned upon both of her friends, even though Tessa wasn't currently in her presence.

"Let's just go to breakfast," Lily gave up.

* * *

When Lily and Alice entered the Great Hall, they immediately spotted the Marauders and Tessa sitting at the Gryffindor table. They were chatting away as usual, and they all greeted Lily and Alice when they took their seat. Alice gave Lily a look as if to say _'I told you everything was fine.'_

But Lily saw right through this. She noticed that everything was certainly not fine. As expected, and with good reason, Potter's eyes were solemn with a twinge of exhaustion embedded in them. There was nothing surprising about that, due to the conditions he was facing. But as she looked around, all of the boys' eyes had a similar, exhausted look to them, especially Remus'. She studied Remus, his light grey eyes were tormented, and the scratches on his face were more prominent than usual. Lily hated to stare at those scars because she knew that she was being rude, but they were just so noticeable, unlike any other day. Lily remembered when the boys had told her that Remus and his Muggle father used to go fishing a lot when he was a kid. They mentioned that one day they were fishing on a bridge over a river and Remus was about to catch a fish when the line was pulling steadily. He climbed on top of the railing to get a better view and he slipped and fell off, almost leading to a fatal accident. He was all cut up from the large rocks along the river and he was rushed to the hospital. According to the boys, Remus never went fishing again after that.

Even with remembering the story behind the scars, Lily still couldn't place a meaning to why they were so irritated looking today. Remus, feeling Lily's eyes scrutinizing him, looked up jadedly.

"What?" He asked dully. Lily jumped a bit and looked down.

"Sorry, I spaced a bit," she claimed awkwardly, blushing a bit.

To be safe, Lily decided to shift her center of attention on someone else. Peter chomping down on sausage grossed her out to endless extent so he was not her next object of attention. Sirius it was, then.

Even Black was a bit more reserved that usual. _Maybe reserved isn't the correct adjective,_ Lily noted after Sirius let out a large belch after chugging orange juice. He wasn't more reserved, but he certainly wasn't his typical cheerful, hyper self. She noticed that his eyes were heavily lidded, obviously from lack of sleep. His puppy-dog brown eyes that always shined were so lifeless, almost. Just out of curiosity, she turned her observance towards Tess, who was sitting next to James. Her light skin looked a bit paler than usual, contrasting strongly with her raven colored hair. Her grey eyes weren't exhausted like the boys' were, but they were definitely guarded.

"Are you going to eat that apple cinnamon muffin, or should I eat it for you?" Tessa spoke up, a slight smile playing on her lips. It took Lily a moment to process what she was being asked of.

"Oh, you can have it," Lily passed it on to her mysterious friend.

"Sweetness," Tessa nodded in approval. Needless to say, breakfast that morning was incredibly dull.

"So…guys are you pumped for the game against Ravenclaw right after breakfast today?" Lily exclaimed suddenly, making a few of her lethargic friends jump at the sudden outburst.

"Totally cannot wait to knock some Bludgers at some smart arse Ravenclaws soon!" Sirius answered back enthusiastically. His sadistic response frightened Lily a tad.

"Since when do you care about Quidditch?" Peter annoyingly chimed in.

"Come on now, who doesn't like a good game of Quidditch," Lily was trying anything to bring some life to the table.

"Well if it counts for anything, Lily, I'm excited for the game!" Frank Longbottom suddenly withdrew his attention from Alice. Longbottom was the announcer for the games. It was quite adorable, to be quite honest. Frank loved Quidditch so much, but he was the furthest thing from an athlete. Lucky for him, he knew all there was to know about Quidditch and earned himself the spot as announcer. Lily gave him a smile, knowing very well that Frank of all people was able to bring cheerfulness to the table.

It was 9:00, signaling that all breakfast was over. Lily watched as James, Sirius, and Tessa all wearing their Quidditch uniforms, headed out to the Pitch, and were followed by the rest of their team. Frank went with them as well, to get the microphone in order and everything set up.

"Did you not see that?" Lily frantically questioned Alice as soon as they were outside of the Great Hall, "All of them, completely lifeless! Something is definitely up, Alice."

"_Lily_," Alice said through her teeth, "James' parents passed away. The boys had all met them before, and Mr. and Mrs. Potter were very well liked throughout the Wizarding Community. They are mourning."

"That doesn't explain Tessa's dullness," Lily continued to nag.

"You're right, Tessa is usually quite eccentric," Alice rolled her eyes.

"Hey, look! Let's go see if Remus and Peter know what's going on," Lily suddenly decided, noticing that the two boys weren't too far ahead of them.

"Honestly, do you really think they would tell you…?" Alice began to ask.

"Peter! Remus! Hey guys!" Lily caught up to their walking pace, "What's up?"

"Well, I just found out that I could fit seventeen marshmallows in my mouth without swallowing them!" Peter mentioned excitedly. Lily blinked a few times.

"That sounds delightful," Lily faked a grin, "So, I'm just going to grab my coat from the Girl's Dormitory, and then I'm heading to the Quidditch Pitch, do you guys want to sit together?"

"Sure," Remus answered.

* * *

"Finnegan from Gryffindor has possession of the Quaffle!" Frank Longbottom roared over the microphone system, "Passes it to Bristol! Whoa, there! Black knocked that Bludger away from her just in time!"

"Did you guys see that? Black just saved her life!" Lily cheered, elbowing Remus in the side.

"Lily, is this honestly the first Quidditch game that you're paying attention to?" Remus raised his eyebrows.

"Yes actually," Lily admitted, "But it's so exciting! How could I not have seen this before?"

"I hope you know that we're losing," Remus replied dully.

"Wait, we are?"

"Hutcherson just stole the ball out of Potter's hands! That's a sight you don't see everyday, and James looks bloody pis-," Frank began to yell over the microphone.

"LONGBOTTOM! Control yourself, there are first years here!" Professor McGonagall bellowed.

"Right, sorry, professor!" Frank continued to talk over the microphone, "Anyway, looks like Hutcherson is going to score! Nothing Gryffindor's Keeper, Derrick Thomas can't handle! Oh…wait. Ten more points to Ravenclaw! This makes the score 0-50. Damn you, Hutcherson!"

"Mr. Longbottom! I expect unbiased, clean commentary from this point forward!" McGonagall scolded.

"My bad, professor."

"Don't we usually win, though?" Lily asked Remus.

"Yes, we usually do," Remus nodded, "Being that this is the first game of the season, and also the first game for James as Captain, it isn't going too well. Last year, the team did great under Liam Wood's leadership. The pressure's on James, now, and at the worst time possible, I'm afraid."

"Yeah," Lily said blankly, wondering how she was going to get information out of Lupin.

"Kid!" Peter suddenly spoke up, calling out to the second year walking around selling popcorn. The kid looked a bit frightened when he saw Peter excitedly calling for him.

"May I help you?" The second year blinked.

"Yes! I'll take two buckets of popcorn! Actually, make that three, I've found four more sickles!" Peter basically threw his money at the kid and grabbed his three buckets of popcorn, and hungrily threw handfuls of popcorn in his mouth.

"So Remus," Lily had to yell a bit over the rumble of the crowd, Frank's commentating, and Peter's crunching, "Everyone looked very exhausted today at lunch."

"Well considering the news of James'…" Remus stopped himself from lashing out a sarcastic remark. He hated how he acted around this time, but he couldn't control himself.

"Sorry, I shouldn't pry," Lily said regretfully. She looked over at Alice who was a few feet away, sitting closely to Frank as he commentated. Maybe she was right; she should stop trying to decipher the meaning of every little bizarre occurrence.

_As if_, Lily quickly corrected herself. It was because she cared too much, it wasn't just curiosity. Lily had a good feel for other people's emotions, and although she couldn't read omens nearly as well as Tessa could, she could read people pretty well. She saw more than just grief in Remus' weary eyes. She recognized a calculating gaze, and an unbreakable focus in his expression, and she knew that he wasn't focusing that hard on the Quidditch match.

"TIME OUT!" James suddenly yelled on the field. Madame Hooch stopped the game and both teams went their separate ways.

"What just happened?" Lily asked frantically, "Is the game over?"

"No. Time out," Remus answered.

"I wonder what's going on down there," Lily mused, pointing to where the Gryffindor team was in a huddle.

"They're probably going into a play," Remus remarked. The players returned to the field, and the game resumed.

"Bristol has possession of the Quaffle!" Frank roared again, "She's flying upwards, with Hutcherson and Bales on either side, clearly getting ready for a steal. Bristol…drops the Quaffle? Oh, but it was a pass to Potter, flying below! He shoots, he scores! Ten points to Gryffindor!"

The entire Gryffindor side of the stands jumped up and began to cheer, Lily included. More plays were made between Potter, Bristol, and Finnegan. After Potter scored three more goals and Bristol scored one, the teams were tied, 50-50.

Lily noticed a satisfied toothy grin on Potter's face. He was able to bring up everyone's spirits and motivate them, even at the worst of times. Lily couldn't help but admire that. That smile was soon wiped away by the sudden enthusiastic cheers of the Ravenclaws.

There, in the Ravenclaw Seeker, Lucas Kip's fist was the Golden Snitch.

"And it appears that Kip has captured the Golden Snitch. Another 150 points is added to their score, and thus ending the game with Ravenclaw winning, 200-50," Frank muttered into the microphone.

Everyone could see the disappointment on the whole Gryffindor team's faces, especially Potter's.

* * *

Lily was determined to talk to Tessa in private and find out what was going on. That Sunday, Tessa was nowhere to be found. She must have been avoiding the Dormitory and the Common Room. This continued on through the week, perplexing Lily even further. During the week's patrol, James had suggested that they split up to get the job done faster so they could go to bed. Lily couldn't disagree, respecting the fact that he needed to clear his mind. Every night that Lily would return to the Dormitory, she would find Tessa fast asleep, carelessly leaving an empty container of Sleeping Draught next to her bed. Alice, of course, thought nothing of it, determining that the poor girl was probably suffering from insomnia, or something.

One day, Lily took off from patrol and decided to return to the Dormitory early. As soon as she walked in, Tessa was unscrewing the cap of the container that held another dose of Sleeping Draught.

"Stop!" Lily yelled, causing Tessa to jump a bit, "Accio Sleeping Draught!"

The potion slipped out of Tessa's hands and landed in Lily's own. Lily expected Tessa to be angry and shoot a spell back at her, but instead she just sat there, not amused by Lily's demanding attitude.

"I was going to drink that," Tessa informed her nonchalantly. Lily ignored her and made sure no one else was in the Dormitory.

"It can wait, I need answers first. You can't just leave me in the dark. That's what all of you are doing, and I won't let it continue."

"Fair enough," Tessa said, unconcerned, "Lumos."

"You know exactly what I mean," Lily huffed at the light emitting from her friend's wand, "I don't care that the less I know the safer I am! It doesn't matter. What actually is happening is that the less I know, the more distance it's putting between my friends and me!"

Tessa sighed, all signs of indifference leaving her. She looked at Lily a bit, her grey eyes scrutinizing her, beginning to make Lily uncomfortable. It was obvious that she was picking through the correct words in her head. Finally, she let out a long exhaled breath, "Lily, I know why the Dementors attacked us last Halloween."

This wasn't the response Lily was expecting at all. A million questions flooded her mind, and it was difficult to process everything, "They _escaped_."

"They didn't escape," Tessa laughed darkly, "Lily, Dementors don't just _escape _from Azkaban."

"Then how did they…"

"They were summoned."

* * *

**Cliffhanger...sorry, I had to. Anyways, if you hate cliffhangers then write a review and I'll write faster, yeh? The next time you'll see my story updated, I would have already gone to WARPED TOURRR AHHHHHH! Sorry I'm a tad bit excited. Oh. Better press the button so you people can read this. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed for this story so far, you make me smile.**


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